Although fertility decline often correlates with improvements in socioeconomic conditions, many demographers have found flaws in demographic transition theories that depend on changes in distal factors such as increased wealth or education. Human beings worldwide engage in sexual intercourse much more frequently than is needed to conceive the number of children they want, and for [...]

Between February 2002 and January 2004 in the Adigrat Zonal Hospital, covering one-fifth of the large Tigray region of North West Ethiopia, there were 907 admissions with a diagnosis of abortion. Among these, 521 were induced by traditional, unsafe methods.1 Unsafe abor- tion was the leading cause of admission, accounting for 12.6% of all bed [...]

This article explores the potential of dual-use policies by examining Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

Evolutionary psychology posits that certain behaviours are universal because they helped the genes of a particular species to survive across the generations. In the case of human beings, such behavioral predispositions evolved to adapt us to the Stone Age rather the modern world. Patriarchy, we suggest, has deep roots in human evolution.

Abortion induced by physical trauma has a long history. This article describes bas-relief sculptures in Angkor Wat, Cambodia dating from the 9th to the 12th centuries, and compares them to contemporary observations of massage abortion.

In the summer of 2006, the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Population, Development and Reproductive Health held a series of Monday hearings at Westminster, London, UK, on population growth and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). For a joyous moment, good science and sound politics came together.

This article discusses the approval of misoprostol in Nigeria for the prevention of postpartum hemorrhage in 2006. This was the first time misoprostol had been approved in any developed or developing country for this lifesaving indication.

This article explores the role of consumer behavior in contraceptive decision making

The fact that the mother’s access to contraception can improve the educational opportunities of her children, as well as her health and that of her infants, is an insight we should always value

Since the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), a majority of theologians and the vast majority of the laity have accepted sexual intercourse as an intrinsic part of a loving relationship. However, the white puff of smoke coming from the Sistine Chapel signifying the election of Pope Benedict XVI will turn into a black cloud for reproductive freedom for a billion Catholics. In the short term it may also hurt non-Catholics, as the new Pope’s stand on these basic human issues may encourage other fundamentalists to impose new constraints.